Tesla autopilot runs red lights – investigations in the USA

Tesla’s “Autopilot” driving assistance system has become the target of new investigations by the US traffic regulator. The focus is on the advanced version “Full Self Driving”. Over time, Tesla’s electric cars should drive autonomously – but people behind the wheel should still intervene in the event of errors. The new investigation involves, among other things, cases in which the software steered cars into the oncoming lane or allowed them to drive through intersections despite red lights.

The NHTSA is investigating 58 incidents in which 23 people were injured. There were no deaths.

Tesla has been letting drivers in the US test FSD software on public roads for some time now. Especially at the beginning, they published a lot of videos in which the system sometimes made serious errors and the people behind the wheel had to intervene to prevent accidents. According to Tesla boss Elon Musk, the software has gotten much better with new versions.

Six cases were reported to NHTSA in which the FSD software drove Teslas past red lights into intersections, resulting in accidents. Several of the incidents occurred at the same intersection in Maryland.

The study should also evaluate how well the FSD system recognizes traffic signs and traffic guidance and orients itself accordingly.

Musk is currently trying to pivot Tesla into robotaxis and humanoid robots, while car sales have been sluggish since last year. In the Texas city of Austin, the company is using some self-driving cars to transport passengers without a human behind the wheel. However, there is still a guard in the passenger seat. The Tesla robotaxis were also filmed violating traffic rules.

The NHTSA started several studies on the traditional version of the “autopilot” assistance system years ago.